Thank you for the welcome, and for reassuring me that all my canning efforts were not in vain!

I did quite a bit of research on the Internet before I started. Had a surplus of 12 ripe tomatoes that I picked yesterday morning. Chose a simple recipe for my first time:

Tomatoes-Whole or Halved (with liquid)
Ideal for use in soups, stews, casseroles and sauces.

Approximate Yields:
21 pounds whole tomatoes for canner load of 7 quarts.
13 pounds whole tomatoes for canner load of 9 pints.

To remove skins, wash tomatoes and dip in boiling water for 30 to 60 seconds or until the skins begin to split. Then dip in cold water, slip off skins, core and remove any blemished or discolored parts. Leave whole or cut in half.

Raw Pack

Heat water, for packing tomatoes, to a boil.
Add lemon juice or citric acid to canning jars along with 1/2 teaspoon salt to each quart jar, if desired. Pack hot jars with prepared tomatoes and fill with boiling water leaving ½-inch head space. Remove air bubbles. Wipe rim and screw threads and adjust lids and screw bands.

Processed 3 pint jars for 40 minutes.

1 jar is now about an inch below the lid. The other two are full, but the tomatoes are at the top and the water at the bottom. I got quite serious about trying to get all the air bubbles out and think it compacted them quite well! ;-)

Thanks so much Ez3 and RM!

LJ